Serbian-Dutch company donates 2,400 rose seedlings to the city of Belgrade

Roses for a more colorful Belgrade

The Dutch-Serbian company PhenoGeno Roses donated 2,400 rose seedlings to the City of Belgrade. HE Mr. Joost Reintjes, the Dutch Ambassador to Serbia and representatives of City officials and management of PUC Greenery planted roses in roses in the park downtown Belgrade in February and in front of Palace of Justice in Belgrade and pending good weather conditions, the roses should start to bloom in May.

The Dutch Embassy in Serbia has long-standing cooperation with the City of Belgrade and the PUC “Greenery” Belgrade. Numerous joint activities were implemented that made Belgrade more colorful and beautiful: from planting of 2,000 seedlings of the new rose variety “Lady of Belgrade” along the river bank to donating 40,000 different flower bulbs that were planted within the walls of city fortress. These flowers bloom successively, thus Belgraders will be enjoying beautiful flower shapes and colors from mid April until the middle of June.

PhenoGeno Roses is a company with a rich  history. The rose cultivation started in a small Dutch family-owned nursery in 1956. In 2009, a Serbian company was established as a research and breeding company and is the only company in rose selection in Serbia.

Serbian government limits flour prices

The Serbian Government has limited flour prices, with the regulation having entered into force  March 1 and foreseen to stay in place until May 31. The prices apply to one-kilogram packages of flour types T-400 and T-500. Retailers must have at least one brand of T-400 smooth type flour in their daily offer of all types of flour, with a maximum retail price not exceeding €0.47 per kilogram. The maximum producer price for this flour must not exceed €0.38 per kilogram. Retailers are also obligated to include at least one brand of T-500 type flour in their daily assortment of all types of flour, with a maximum price not exceeding €0.42 per kilogram. The maximum producer price for this flour must not exceed €0.35 per kilogram. At these prices, producers are required to supply retailers with at least 50% of the quantity compared to the same period last year every month. Customers are limited to purchasing a maximum of five kilograms of these types of flour per transaction. Penalties for sellers who do not comply with the regulation include fines of up to €17 thousand and up to one year of business suspension, daily Danas reported.

The largest landowners in Serbia

The largest landowners in Serbia are Matijevic Meat Industry, Al Dahra company from the United Arab Emirates, MK Group, and Delta Holding, according to Forbes Serbia. Matijevic Meat Industry, which in-cludes MatijevicAgrar, cultivates 36,000 hectares of land across Vojvodina and 2,000 in Croatia, owning 33,000 hectares of it. This group comprises of 106 companies in agriculture, trade, and hospitality. Al Dahra has been the second-largest landowner in Serbia for five years, thanks to the purchase part of the Belgrade Agro Combinate (PKB) assets in October 2018. They paid €121 million and took over 17,000 hectares of land. According to media reports, the company paid €80 million for the land, making the cost per hectare €4,700. Currently, Al Dahra owns 14,429 hectares, Forbes Serbia reports.

MK Group cultivates more than 13,500 hectares of land in Vojvodina. Agricultural experts claim that they own about 11,000 hectares of land, while available data show just under 10,000 hectares. According to the official website, Delta Holding cultivates 15,000 hectares on five agricultural estates. It is said that they own 95% of this land but agriculture analysts attribute 10,000 hectares to them. The company's own property records suggest just under 7,000 hectares, Forbs Serbia reported.

New plant-based food factory opened in Belgrade

At the end of February, Swiss company Nestlé Srbija opened a plant-based meal production facility in Surcin, in the outskirts of Belgrade. An investment of €80 million is Nestlé’s second facility in production of plant-based meals and will boast an annual production capacity by 12,000 tons of food. The raw materials for production will be sourced locally and the factory's export markets will include Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Nestlé states that its business philosophy is stronger support to the development of local suppliers and agricultural producers, as well as introduction of new trends in nutrition in Serbia, such as the plant-based assortment that the factory will produce. The factory will utilize renewable energy from hydroelectric power plants, generate zero municipal waste and will manage all wastewater onsite.

Nestlé Serbia reported a sales growth of 10.4% in 2023 and plans further investments in regenerative agriculture. "Nestlé is committed to sustainable food production practices, and 2023 marked our third consecutive year of implementing the regenerative agriculture project in Serbia. So far, we have invested about €800,000 which has facilitated the cultivation of approximately 3,000 hectares," said Marjana Davidović, General Manager for Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia at Nestlé. The company's plan, as she stated, is to invest an additional €1 million in regenerative agriculture in 2024 and to increase the cultivated area using these practices to more than 6,000 hectares.